stowe



(No Model.) 5 sheets-sheet 1'.

B.. L. STOWE.

AUTOMATIC GAB. BRAKE. No. 245,576. APatented Aug. 9,1881.

N4 PETERS. Phelu-Linmgmphcr, washingwn. D. C.

i Wilnesse:

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2V.

B. L. STOWE.

AUTOMATIC GAR BRAKE. l No. 245,576. Patented Aug. 9, 1881.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.V

B. L. STOWE. AUTOMATIC GAR BRAKE.

No. 245,576. Patented Aug.. 9,1881.

'Flaw-4.

n van iar (No Model.)

B. L. STOWE.

AUTOMATIC GAR BRAKE.

5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

PatentedAug. 9, 18 81'.`

N. PETERS. Phm-Lnmgmpher, washing, D, c.

(No Modem Y 5 sheets-sheet 5.

- B. L. STOWE.

AUTOMATIC GAR BRAKE.

Patented Aug. 9,18 8 l.

N, PETERS. Phgmmhngmpmr. wmhinman uV C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.y

BENJAMIN L. srowE, on NEW voEK, N. Y., AssIeNoE rro J. vAN D. EEED,

on lsAME PLAGE.

AUTOMATIC vCAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 245,576, dated August 9, 1881.

Application tiled November 11, 1880.

To all whom @t may concern y Be it known that I, BENJAMIN L. S'rowE, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Gar-Brakes lor Railway- Cars, ot' which the following is a specification. This invention has relation to automatic brakes for railway-cars.

The improvements about to be described are Io applicable in great measure to automatic carbrakes in general, but are here shown as ada-pted to the automatic double-acting system set forth in my Letters Patent Nos. 231,115 and 231,116. The automatic car-brake illustrated injthe accompanying drawings is one of that class of such brakes in which friction-rollers, one upon the car-axle and one upon the brake-shaft, cause the brake-chain to be wound upon the brakeshaft at required times by their being brought into contact one with the other by the motion of the draw-bar ofthe car. In brakes of this class difficulty has been experienced in causing the chain to be nnwound from the brakeshaft when the brake is released without the use of strong springs to crowd the brake-shoes` away from the wheels; land these stii springs.

take so much from the power of the hand-brake, when it is necessary to use that, thatthey are objectionable upon that account.

My object is to provide a spring that sha-ll act upon the automatic-brake shaft and cause the chain to be unwound whenever the brake is released without interfering in any way with the action of the hand-brake. This I accomplish by combining with `the automatic-brake mechanism a spring', (termed by me a throwoff spring,) which is put under tension when the brake is applied, and which is attached to or connected with the automatic-brake mechanism at some point intermediate between the device that imparts power to the automaticbrake mechanism and the point at which the hand-brake rod is attached to the brake-mechanism. under such an arrangement that it will act only upon the automatic-brake-applying mechanism and not upon the hand-brake connections.

My invention further relates to means for limiting the amount of brake-power that is au- (No model.)

tomatically applied, and to this end it consists in combining with the automatic-brake-apply- Myinvention consists, further, invarious de- 6o tails of construction and arrangement, which can best be explained and understood by reference to the 'accompanying drawings.

In these drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical central section of so much ot' a railroad-car as 65 needed to illustrate my invention. Fig. 2 is aplan of the same parts in section, with the carframe removed in order to more clearly show the brake-applying mechanism. Fig. 3 is a plan ofthe front portion of one truck. Fig. et 7o is a longitudinal vertical section of the same. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section, partly in elevation, ot' the'front portion of the truck and fraaie in Fig. 1. Fig. Gis a like section through the rear part of said truck. Fig. 7. is-,7l5 an" elevation, partly in section, showingthe arrangement ofthe movable casting T and lever a, hereinafter referred to'. Figs. 8, 9,10, 11,

12 are detail views representing the casting S and partsimmediatelyconnected withit. A Figs. 8o 13, 14. are like views of the casting T. Figs. 15, 16 are an elevation and plan, respectively,

of the bracket which receives the casting T. Figs. 17, 18, 19 are detail views of the centrifugal or gravity mechanism. Figs. 20, 21, 22 are 85 views of modiiieations hereinafter referred' to.

Ais the car-fran1e; B is the draw-bar; O is the draw-timbers; D is the truck-frame; E are the'axles; F are rdifferent parts of the hand-brake; G, the wheels; H, the safety- 9o beams, all of which are similar to those already in use.

I isa centrifugal-or, more properly, a gravity-arrangement, (shown in detail in Figs. 17, 18, 19,) and similar in its action to those described in my previous Letters" Patent Nos. 231,115 and 231,116. f

Otherwise my improved brake consists of Y brake-shaft J having a bearing at one end in the draw-timber and at the other in the oarroo frame. Upon the end of this shaft nearest to the draw-timber is afianged pulley, K; and a chain, L, secured to the periphery of this pulley, is wound once or twice about it, and then reaches down and is connected to an eyebolt in the sideot friction-pulley M. Anotherchain, N, is fastened to the side of pulley K, and then reaches out and is fastened to the end of the eqnaliZing-lever O at the same place as the hand-brake rod. A spring, P, (the throw-ofi' spring hereinbet'ore referred to,) is coiled loosely about the shaft, and one end is fastened to the car-frame and the other to the shaft J in such a way that it is wound up or tightened when the chain is wound upon the shaft and unwouud when the chain is unwound.

R- is another brake-shaft, having abearing at eitherendin castingsSS ,fastened to the safetybeams H. This shaft carries the friction-pul ley M, and there is another friction-pulley, M', clamped upon the axle directly opposite to it. The casting S, supporting one end of the lever brakeshaft, (see detail views, Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,) is bolted to one of the safety-beams. The shaft'It enters an oblong curved recess, a', near the bottom of the casting. It also passes through a bearing, b, and a link, c. The link is pivoted at c' to the casting in such manner that when the shaftis raised thelink will cause the end of shaft to follow in the reoess'a. This link, when in its lowest position, rests upon a shoulder, d, upon the casting. A shoulder, e, on the bearing b rests upon this link, and the hole through the bearing is Vlarge enough to allow the shaft to passthrough it without coming into forcible contact with its sides, so that as the bearing is pressed downward by what I call the relief-Spring,f, which fits over the plug 'b' of' the bearing, and rests upon the shoulder c at its lower' end and enters a cap,

f', at its upper, the said cap being forced v.two lugs, r, at its lower extremities.

downward by a set-screw, f2, passing through a lug upon the casting, the bearing will not rest directly upon the shaft, but will impart its downward pressure to the end of the shaft through the medium of' the link.. Another lug, g, upon the casting affords a bearing for one end of a shaft, to be hereinafter described. The other end of the lever brake-shaft R enters the oblong recess h in the casting S', Figs. 15, 16, the said casting being bolted to the other saf'ety-beam. In a curved guide slot or recess, t', in one end of this casting the end or oscillating casting, T, Figs. 13, 14, fits loosely, the flange j entering the recess i, and the end of' a sliding pin, k, that passesthrough the boss l, rests against the inner edge of the flange upon the casting in such position that the stop-piece k on the casting T will cross its pathway when movement is given to the casting. The end of the shaft passes through the opening m in the casting T and forms a support for the said casting. A'vertical lever, n, is placed directly against the casting T, the shaft R also passing through it, (see Fig. 7;) and two studs, o, fastened securely in the lever, passing loosely throughv the slots p in the cas'ting, and having heads o upon the back of the casting, serve to maintain the lever in its position. A spring, 1', placed between this lever and the casting, tends to keep the lever back with the studs against the rear ends of the slots 1).

The pin k is made to slide in and out in its bearing l. When it is out it allows the castin g T to partake of whatever motion the lever a may have; but when it isin, it obstructs the passage of the stop-piece k and causes the lever to make one or the other of the stop-pins o its fnlcrum, according to the direction ofthe lever-s movement, and to apply a forward movement to the brake-shaft, the spring 1' being compressed. It will be seen that a movement of the lever n in either direction produces a like effect upon the end of the shaft R-that is, if the upper end of' the lever n is moved forward after the movement in corresponding di rection ofthe casting T is stopped by the pin lr, the lower stud o becomes the fnlcrum, and when the lever n is moved backward and the like movement of the casting is prohibited by the pin 7c the upper pin o becomes the fulerum; but in either case the resultis thc same and the shaft R is pressed forward.

The gravity or centrifugal arrangement is similar in principle and action, though of a modified form. to that described in Letters Patent ofthe United States Nos. 231,115 and 231,116. In my present invention I employ preferably' two weights or wheels, l, that slide freely upon their respective arms 2 between the castings 3 and the collars 4. The collars 4 and springs 5 serve to cushion the blow of the falling weights upon the end otl the arms. I prefer to clamp this arrangement upon a dif'- ferent axle of the same truck from that upon ,which the friction-drum is clamped.

A casting, V, bolted to a safety-beam, has A fork, \V, has lugs upon itto correspond to the lugs r', and a pin,s, passes through t-he two upon one side and a shaft, t, through the two at the other, f'orming a workingpoint. A cam, c, is fixed to this fork at a proper height to allow the weights '1 to pass clear of'it when thrown ont by centrifugal force, but to be in their path way whenever they shall have fallen a certain distance toward the center before they come into contact with it. When the cam is in the pathway of the wheel-weights it is pressed backward by them.

It should be understood that this mechanism does not depend entirely upon centrifugal f'orce to operate it, as it is more properly a gravity arrangement, and the speed at which it may be made to operate depends upon the shape and size ofthe wheels and cam, aml not upon the centrifugal form-as, for instance, if the wheels be large and the cam long, the axle must revolve at a very low speed (so low as to almost entirely overcome centrifugal force) to give the weight sufficient time to slide in upon the arm after the arm leaves a horizon- IOO IOS

IIS

tal position and before the weight reaches the cam. If it has not time, the weight will fall upon the top of the cam and will slide over it without crowding it back. In this case the only advantage of centrifugal force is that it renders the action noiseless. A hooked stoppiece, V', reaches out from the safety-beam and limits the forward movement of the fork W.

The shaft t passes freely through the lug r' Y of casting V, but is keyed to the fork W. The

other end of said shaft t rests in the bearing g of the casting S. A piece having two arms, lw to', is keyed vto the shaft t. One of these arms, w', is weighted and serves to hold the fork forward. From the other, 1u, an arm, fr, reaches out to the pin lc and passes through it, as shown in dotted lines iny Fig. 5, the whole forming a connection by means of which the weights are made to draw the pin at desired times, and by which said pin is forced in again when the weights are not operating.

A horizontal lever, X, reaches from the casting S to the lever n at about the level of the tops of the safety-beams. It is pivoted at one end upon the set-screwj'3, and through a slot, at', at the other end the upper end ot' the vertical lever u passes, the lever being reduced in sizeso as to form shoulders for the horizontal lever to restupon. (See Fig.'7.) A pin, a', passes through the vertical lever above the horizontal one and prevents the latter from rising off from the other. The horizontal lever X has a longitudinal slot, a3, at its cen.- ter. This slot is curved to a radius of which the center-pin or kingbolt of the truck forms the center. The lower end of another vertical lever, Y, enters said slot. This leveris sup- .ported between the draw-timbers by an arm,

B', reaching out from the rear of the drawbar, and to which arm the lever is pivoted A rod, y2, passing through a hole in its upper end, is securely fastened at one or both ends to the draw-timbers. Spiral springs g3,

-nuts, and collars hold the upper end of the le- 45Y ver, so that the lever is about vertical when no pressure is exerted upon the draw-bar. The

lsprings-one or the-vother-compress to admit of a forward or backward movement of the draw-bar that shall exceed `the amount required at the lower end ofthe lever to actuate the brake movement. One spring is usually made to serve the purpose for which, for convenience of illustration, I have shown the two here. I

Having now described the different parts of my improved brake, I will next proceed to describe the method of its operation.

We will suppose that at the present time the -car is at rest, but that it is about to be pulled forward. To do this the draw-bar must be ,drawn upon sufficiently to compress the drawspring B'l slightly. This will draw, by means of the armA B', upon the-lever Y and cause its lower end to be thrown forward against the front of the slot in the horizontal lever X, and

vthislatter will thenbe pushed forward and carpiece to pass. Vand fall back so long as the speed of the train crowded back.

.manner as the hand-brake.

ry with it the top of the upright lever n. This lever will impart its mot-ion to the casting T, which, if the pin le be withdrawn, will be carried about enough to allow the pin to fall below the stop-piece k when it enters. If the pin should not be withdrawn, the stop-piece will come against it, and Ithere remain until the axle has made not to exceed one-half a revolution, when the pin must be withdrawn by the action of the weights on the cam 'v and allow the stop- The pin will continue to draw does not exceed thelimit at which the weights are set to operate-say about one mile an hour. When the speed shall exceed that the pin will enter below the stop-piece, and the brake mechanism is in readiness to act whenever the drawbars shall receive an inward thrust. Now, it' a brake be applied to the engine or to the carsy in advance of this one,thedrawbar willreceive such a thrust, and the result will be that the verticallever Y, the horizontal lever X, and the upper end of the upright lever a will be The casting T will partake of the motion of the lever until the stop-piece 7i strikes the pin 7c, when the upper sind o will become a fulcrmn, and the end of the brakeshai't R will be pressed forward sufficiently to bring the friction-pulleys M M', which are set a little way apart, into Contact and cause the ,revolving motion of the friction-roll upon the axle to be imparted' to the one upon the brakeshat't. This will cause the chain L to be wound up on shaft It quite fast at irst,in consequence ofthe chain being fastened near the rim ofthe pulley M, and slowly afterward, when it winds upon the shaft lt. This will continue until the requisite pulltupon the chain N is obtained, when a further strain will overcome the pressure of the spring j' against the link c, and will allow the shaft It to risc. As the shaft rises the link draws it backward and causes the pnl-I v brake-po wer obtained. Asthe chain Lis won nd upon theshaft It it is unwound from the pulley K upon the shaft J above, and the chainA N is wound upon the upper shaft, J, like the other chain, L, fast at first and slower afterward. This chain N pulls directly upon the equalizing-lever and applies the brake in the saine While this chain NA is being wound up the spring P about the shaft J is being tightened, so that when the Abrake is applied the spring P applies considera-ble power to the shaft J. The brake is new applied, and will continue so until either the inward pressure upon the draw-bar is relieved .or until the speed of the train is sufiiciently reduced to allow the weights l to draw the pin. When from either of these causes the pulleys .M M are allowed'to separate, the chain N will immediately unwind by reason of'the great strain upon it, assisted by Athe spring P upon IOC IIO

the upper shaft. rlhe chains being fastened to the pulleys at a distance from the center renders it easier for the chains to unwind when the force is nearly expended.

The action of the spring I) and the manner of fastening the chains have been found to obviate a difficulty that could not be otherwise satisfactorilyovercome in brakes of this classviz., the tendency of the brake to only partiallyreleaseitself. If the train is backed, the drawbar will be pushed in when the train starts, and the levers will partakcof this movement, and the pin will fall in above the stoppiece, and the mechanism will be so adjusted that an outward pull upon the draw-bar will apply the brake in precisely the same manner as an inward thrust when the car had been started by a pull upon the draw-bar, instead of the push that it required to shut it in this instance, except that now the lower stud o will act as the fulcrum.

lt is obvious that the action of the draw-bar upon the brake will be the saine whether it is at the forward ortherearend ofthe car, and that but one set of mechanism is required 5 but, it' desired, the connection may be made with the draw-bar at the other end of the car. To do this the rod y2, instead of being fastened rigidly to the draw-timbers, passes through the holes in the supports a '1, which are fastened to the' draw-timbers, as shown in Fig. 20, these supports being placed one at either end of the spring 1/3, and the lever Y heilig pinned to the rod y2, so thatthe leverand rod move together, and either one or the other ot' the spiral springs is compressed between thelever and one or the other ofthe supports when the lever ispushed or drawn. No w,ifa rod orchaiint 5, be carried from thcend of this rod to the other draw-bar, a pull upon that draw-bar uill cause the upper end of the lever to be thrown back at the saine time as the draw-bar at this end causes the lower end to be thrown forward, and the motion of the lever will be therebyincreased. It is preferred to use one ot' the springs longer than the other. (See Fig. 20.)

A spring similar to a clock-spring (sec Figs.y

21, 22) may be used instead of the coil-spring P about the shaft J. v

The described brake arrangement may be made single-acting--that is, to operate only when the car receives its momentum by a pull upon the draw-bar--by resisting the forward movement of the horizontal lever X to a degrec that shall allow the pin 7c to drop below the stoppin, when the lever is drawn forward as the train starts, but without sufficient mo tion to bring the pulleys M M into contact when the lpin is upon the upper side of the stop-pin 7d.

I do not restrict myself to the exact construction of the relief arrangementconsisting of a spring-bearing and link, as described, for it is manifest that the spring may be otherwise applied for the purpose of limiting the amount of brake-power. v

the lower brake orfriction-roller shaft, R, the

essential feature being that it shall act in the manner hereinbefore indicated on the alitomatic-brake-applying mechanism without iniiuencing or offering any obstacle to the application of the hand-brake.

By connecting in the manner described the chain L to the pulley M and the chain N to the drum K, these chains will, as hereinbefore said, be wound up quite fast at first and more slowly afterward. I thus take up the chains more rapidly at the time when less power is required for the operation, and then cause the winding to take place less rapidly, but with greater power, in this way increasing the efficiency of the brake-applying mechanism.

Hooks or lugs or irregular-shaped pulleys may be used to take up the chains faster at the first, and thereby serve the same purpose as fastening the chains away from the center. Set-nuts may be placed upon the bar connecting the vertical leverY with the push-bar, for the purpose of adjusting.;r the position of the lever, instead of using the nuts upon the rod y?, carrying the springs.

A continuous chain running from a small grooved pulley upon the lower brake-shalt to a similar larger one upon the upper shaft may be employed instead of the single chain, as described.

Having described my improvements, whatl l claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with the axle and friction-roll thereon and the frictioirpulley brakeshaft, operated to move to bring its pulley 0r wheel into contact with the friction-roll on the axle at the times and in the manner substantially as hereinbefore described, of the relicfspring, arranged and operating to permit said shaft to recede from the axle when the strain upon the brakes exceeds the prescribed limit, substantially as and for the Vpurposes herein set forth.

2. The combination,with the lower brake or friction-pulley shaft and the upper automatic brake or winding shaft, ofthe connecting-chain attached to the lower shaft, substantially as hereinbefore described,whereby the said chain, in applying the brakes, is wound up rapidly at first and more slowly afterward.

3. In combination with the upperautomatic brake or winding shaft and the equalizing-lever, the connecting-chain attached to said shaft, substantially as hereinbefore described, so that when the brakes are applied it shall be wound up rapidly at first and more slowly afterward.

et. The combination, with the two shafts R J and the brake mechanism operated thereby,

IOO

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before set forth, with castings S T, lever a,

stop-pin k, and their adjuncts, of the levers X andY, the equalizin g-rod, and springor springs controlling the latter and the draw-bar.

7. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the lower brake or frictionpulley shaft, the casting S, the relief-spring and bearing, and link c, the castings S T,lever a, and stop-pin It', and their adj uncts, the upper brake or winding shaft, and the levers X Y.

8. The combination, substantially as herein described, with the lower brake or friction-pulley shaft, R, of the upper brake or winding shaft, J, said parts being connected with one another and with the brakes in the manner substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

9. The combination, with the wheel-weights and their supporting arms and springs, of the vibratin g cam-yoke, the weighted rock-shaft t, link and stop-pin k, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

CII

l0. The combination, with the equalizinglever and hand-brake rod attached thereto, of the automatic brake or windin g shaft con- 5 5 nected with said equalizin g -lever and the throw-oft' spring connected to the brake-applying mechanism, substantially as herein described, so as to be put under tension only when the automatic brake-shaft is operated to 4o apply the brakes.

l1. The combination, with the automatic brake-applying mechanism and the throw-off spring, of the hand-brake rod connected with saidmechanismatapointintermediatebetween 45 the brake-shoes and point at which the throwoff spring is attached to said mechanism, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

l2. In an automatic brake of the kind de- 5o scribed, a spring so arranged that tension upon it shall be applied or increased when the automatic brakeis applied, and shall be released or lessened when the automatic brake is released, for the purpose ot' assisting in the re- 5 5 lease of suchbrake, said spring to act upon the automatic brake, and not upon the handbrake, substantially as specied.

BENJAMIN L. STOWE. 

